Course of Fascination: Special Interests in Asperger Autism

Objective: Special interests are one of the core symptoms in autistic disorders. Nevertheless, these interests are a rarely investigated topic and little is known about their course and their presence in adulthood. Methods: 39 adult individuals with an Asperger autism (19 female, 20 male patients; age range 21-53 years) described their interests in child- and adulthood via questionnaire with regard to the topic, age of onset and duration of the interest as well as to the time they spent with it and the sensed intensity. Data were compared between child- and adulthood and between both genders. Results: There were no significant differences between child- and adulthood and not between female and male individuals. In average our participants had 4 interests in both life phases and spent on about 5 days between 2 and 3 hours respectively with them. Their mean intensity of interest was “strong”. Conclusion: Special interests seem to be of great importance for individuals with autism not only in childhood, but also in adulthood. Adults spend time with them in a similar manner and feel same intensity of interests as in childhood. Therefore, special interests appear to be a stable symptom in autistic disorders and could be used as a pleasant resource by the persons concerned.